Doing Our Bit in the Great War in 1915. And a Lynching in Georgia.

            The Postcard

A Two-O-Nine Series postcard that was printed in Great Britain. The artwork was by A. A. Nash. 

The card was posted in Essex using a ½d. stamp on Tuesday the 17th. August 1915. It was sent to:

Miss Maud Sharp,
42, Mill Road,
Maldon,
Essex.

The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Dear Maud,
Hope you are enjoying
yourself. I have been
back a week.
Love from Sonnie & 
Maggie & myself to all.
M."

The 1915 Galveston Hurricane

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, on the 17th. August 1915, a hurricane made landfall southwest of Galveston, Texas with wind speeds of 135 mph (217 km/h). 

The extreme high winds and heavy rainfall led to massive damage estimated at $921 million (2005 USD). However, the timely construction of the Galveston Seawall in the aftermath of the 1900 Galveston hurricane saved much of town, with only 11 people reported killed. 

The storm began to weaken after Galveston, turning northeast and passing Houston as a Category 1 hurricane before dropping to tropical storm status later that day.

--  The Galveston Seawall

Construction of the Galveston Seawall began in September 1902, and the initial 3.3 mile (5.3 km) segment was completed on the 29th. July 1904. By 1963, the seawall had been extended to a length of over 10 miles (16 km).

The Seawall is approximately 17 feet (5.2 m) high and 16 feet (4.9 m) thick at its base. Many miles of the wall have been painted by children with huge murals depicting underwater life and other nautical themes.

Although the Seawall has performed as intended, it has created an unintended and insurmountable consequence: passive erosion resulting in the gradual disappearance of the once-wide beach and the resort business with it. 

One oberver noted:

"Within twenty years, the city had lost one 
hundred yards of sand. People who once 
watched auto racing on a wide beach were 
left with a narrow strip of sand at low tide, 
and a gloomy vista of waves on rocks when 
the tide was high." 

With the loss of the beach Houston soon overtook Galveston as the major city in the region.

A Lynching in Georgia

Also on that day, Jewish American Leo Frank was abducted from his prison cell in Milledgeville, Georgia, and lynched for the alleged murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta. 

The lynch mob was organized by several prominent political figures in Georgia, including former state governor Joseph Mackey Brown and Eugene Herbert Clay, former mayor of Marietta, Georgia.

An Airship Attack on London

Also on the 17th. August 1915, four German Navy airships attempted to bomb London, but two turned back with engine trouble, and a third mistakenly bombed open fields near Ashford and Faversham. 

The fourth airship, however, became the first ever to reach London. But thinking they were over the central part of the city, the crew mistakenly bombed Leyton, hitting the railroad station and a number of houses, killing 10 people and injuring 48.

The Zeppelin was destroyed by lightning the following September.

The deliberate bombing of civilians was an attempt to undermine the resolve of the British people and to boost German morale. 

It was not going to be a ‘war winning’ campaign in itself, but these attacks required that ten squadrons of fighters and many personnel were retained in defence of the UK and not sent to the Western Front.
   

Taken on: April 11, 2023

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